Nott Today
by OctAvi
Summary: Maud Nott was a proud Slytherin who had a lot responsibilities to carry on her shoulders. As the Wizarding World is starting to change, Maud will learn where her duties and heart lie. Will she follow her family's footsteps or will she change the course of history? Can she also get through the ice cold heart of the Half Blood Prince?
**Hey everyone! This was sitting on my computer and I completely forgot about it for the longest time. My undying first love, Severus Snape. I figured I would continue it since I love nothing more than HP universe (except LOTR universe). I hope it is not too horrible and you all enjoy it!**

* * *

 _Please, please, please…_

Her voice was screaming in her head the begging phrase repeatedly. She needed things to go her way if she wanted her life to become easier. Maud's small eyes were screwed shut, her forehead scrunched up creating wrinkles not fit for a young girl her age. Her thin fingers grasped the stool with such force her knuckles turned stark white. Maud needed this.  
The hat chuckled as it landed on her soft head of hair. Maud felt it wiggle on top of her as it made incoherent noises of wonder and amusement.

 _Please, please, please…_

"Ah, begging are we?" the hat chuckled towards Maud's pleas, causing her to scrunch up her face even more. Embarrassment and anger swelled up in her chest making her hands grip even harder onto the stool she sat on. "Intelligent. Oh yes, so much potential. Hmm, you have your wits about you." The hat chuckled. "Oh and that temper, you could hold so much power but something holds you back. Now why is that I wonder? You could do great things, great things. Where to put you. Ravenclaw? Slytherin? Which one…"

Maud inhaled sharply waiting for the hats answer.

"Slytherin!"

"Yes!" Maud leapt up from the stool beaming with joy. The Slytherin table paused, taken back by their new addition's exuberant excitement joining their house. But the second the shock wore off, the entire table enveloped in immense cheer. They whooped and hollered as Maud blushed red and half-skipped to the table.

The rest of the Great Hall was quiet, disgusted and fearing the behavior of the Slytherins. What kind of girl would want to be part of Slytherin? Was she Voldemort's spawn of evil herself? Was she absolutely insane? Maud's smile did not leave her face for the rest of the night as she watched the rest of the fellow first years be sorted into their house. After the final first year who was sorted into Hufflepuff, sauntered his way to his respective table, Maud was ready to devour the table itself.

As she finished that thought, food appeared in front of her. She gasped with amazement, still getting used to the quirks and charms that filled these halls. As she silently ate she glanced to her right, seeing a student a year or two older than her, buried in a large book. Maud tried to sneak a peek at the contents of the book as she slowly chewed on her dinner roll. Why was a Slytherin nose deep in a book? Why not a Ravenclaw? As she sat there questioning the young man, she could feel the atmosphere tense up.

Maud jumped a little as she diverted her eyes, hoping she was not coming off as a nosy nitwit. Again, curiosity got the best of her and she glanced to her right to see what made that novel so interesting. She slowly glanced to see the book snapped shut, a long bony hand resting on top of the cover. Maud's eyes slowly followed the boy's arms until she reached his face, which was now turned to her glaring with cold hatred. Maud's breath hitched in her throat as she fully registered his face. Lanky sharp features stared back at her. His thin lips her curled into a snarl, his obsidian eyes blank and cold as they glared right at her. His dark hair hung in front of his face a little as he was slightly hunched over.

"What do you want?" He growled. His voice was low, menacing. Maud's face grew hot as she replayed it over and over in her head.

"Ah - nothing." She mumbled as she struggled to get her breath back as she finished scarfing down the dinner roll she had in her hand. As she swallowed the roll, she choked, resulting in her grabbing for something to drink before she died at the ripe young age of _. Maud coughed, embarrassment sweeping over her as she noticed from the corner of her eyes that the boy was still staring at her. "M-ahem- Maud. Maud Nott."

The boy's eyes squinted at the younger classmate and made an annoyed sound at her. He turned back to his book and started reading quietly again.

"Severus Snape."

* * *

"Severus! Severus, wait up!"

Maud tried to catch up with the tall boy who was taking fast, long strides in front of her. Severus inwardly groaned as he heard the soft, light voice of Maud calling after him, fueling his strides to become even faster. The young girl annoyed him to no end. Why did she have the audacity to follow him around like some straggling puppy?

"Severus!" She cried out again, picking up her pace to a slight run as she followed him weaving through the crowd of students.

"What-" He exclaimed as he whipped around, glaring at the young blond girl who was bending over, catching her breath "-do you want?" Maud put one finger up motioning to give her a second to catch her breath. As she felt her chest wasn't constricting around her anymore she stood up and gave a small smile to Severus.

"I wanted to see if you were going to Hogsmeade this weekend." Severus sneered as he shifted his weight to his left foot, closing off his body in disgust hoping it would send her the message to leave him be.

"Why would I waste my time with something so…foolish?" Maud twisted a lock of her hair around her pointer finger as she listened to the angry boy in front of her spout about the lack of interest he had in the idea of traveling to Hogsmeade. This did not surprise her for every time she asked, he shot her down with a cold stare and a sharp tongue. "I have more important things to be doing with my time."

"Like following Lily around like a love struck buffoon?" Maude scoffed. Severus shook with anger at her comment. He took a menacing step toward the short girl who did not waver, but rolled her eyes at him.

"Listen here you- "His face was scrunched up in a menacing scowl, his eyes cold and full of hatred.

"Oh get off it Severus." She crooned. Maud's eyes narrowed. "You never learn, do you?" Severus growled as he grabbed the front of her robes.

"The only one here who needs to learn a lesson is you, Nott. You know nothing, you arrogant fool."

"You don't scare me, Severus. You never could. Go ahead, try." A smirk made its way across her mouth as she knew she hit a nerve with the lanky bookworm. "Come to Hogsmeade with me. I know you need a break from all your dark, brooding secrets." If there was one thing that Maud enjoyed, it was picking on Severus. It was not out of disgust or hatred but, a friendly game. The way his eyes flashed and how he never backed down made her fingertips tingle and her heart pound loudly in her chest.

He quickly let go of the cuff of her robes and lightly shoved her. Maud stumbled back a few feet and pushed up her glasses that fell a little off her nose.

"You know nothing, Nott."

"I know more than you think. Alright, fine." She sighed as she straightened out the wrinkles of her robes "I'll let Black know that you declined, yet again." Maud huffed. She looked back up at the tall senior and smiled. "I don't know why we keep asking you to join. What a pity, I knew of this book you would absolutely devour. Guess I'll just get it for myself then. See you at supper, Severus!" With that she ran off to join her next class.

Severus huffed at the retreating girl who pushed him to the brink of insanity. It was times like these he would love nothing more than to obliterate her off the face of the planet. Yet, with that dark thought he felt a slight pang of guilt. Even if she was a thorn in his side, he knew…no. He pushed the thought aside and honed in on his anger at her yet again as he skulked away.

"So, what did he say?" Maud scoffed as she sat down at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall next to Regulus Black who did not even give her a second to settle down before hounding her with questions. She angrily grabbed food from the table and slapped it onto her plate before taking a big bite out of it, turning to Regulus glaring. Regulus chuckled as he brought his goblet up to his mouth to take a swig of pumpkin juice. "I take it he said no, yet again?"

Maud groaned as she rolled her eyes.

"I don't understand him, that insufferable git." She snapped as she quickly ate more food in frustration. "Why can't he just act like he isn't dying every time I ask him? Why must he pick a fight every time? It is just so…so…ugh- "Maud slammed her hands down in the table causing the rest of the Slytherins and a few others from different tables to stare at her with a raised eyebrow. Her face heated up as she noticed all the eyes on her, causing her to quickly swallow her food and glare right back at them. "What do you want? Have you never seen a pissed off girl before?!" She bellowed. Theirs heads snapped back to their plates, afraid to look the Nott girl in fear she'd hex their heads off.

"Miss. Nott, please refrain from causing a scene. You are Slytherin, not a bubbling Gryffindor idiot." Her Head of House scowled from behind her. Maud tensed up and slowly turned around, giving him her most sincere smile.

"My deepest apologies, Professor. I don't know what came over me." He nodded at her and tapped his nose two times as a sign of acknowledgment and warning.

"You are a Nott, my dear. You are looked up to. Don't disappoint us."

"I will not, Sir. It won't happen again." Maud watched as he slowly walked off to the head table next to the other Professors who were already idly talking while they ate.

"We sure have a lot to live to, huh? Noble families and all." Regulus sighed as Maud turned back around, burying her head in her arms due to embarrassment.

"I thought my life was going to be easier. But I just make it difficult for myself every time I open my bloody mouth." Regulus patted and rubbed Maud's back in a loving, supportive manner.

"It's going to be alright. You aren't too terrible." He chuckled at his joke as Maud lifted her head to glare at him. Maud made a mock laugh as she stuffed her face with more food causing the Black child to laugh even harder. "You know I am here for you. We will get through all of it together."

"Thank you, Reg."

"Are you going to Slughorn's party?" Regulus asked to break the silence that had wafted over them. Maud sighed.

"I guess. But do I have to bring a date? That is just so tedious and annoying."

"We can go together if you like." Maud scrunched her nose up at the notion.

"Are you even allowed to go with others who are already part of the club?" Regulus shrugged his sharp shoulders.

"I see why not. There is nothing against it. Come on, Maud. Go with me." Maud smiled at the handsome Black who shot her his best grin. His dark eyes sparkled as he lightly shoved her to get her to answer. She giggled and agreed that she would go with him only because he shot her his award winning smile and she could never say no to it. Plus, it would save her the hassle of finding a date which never ended well for her. "Oh hush Maud, you could find a date in a heartbeat. You just keep going after closed off men who are interested in others."

As Maud was about to go off on her friend, the 'closed off man who is interested in others' entered the Great Hall and sat down next to Regulus with a loud thud of his book slamming down on the table.

"Black." He grunted as he started putting food on his plate, refusing to look at either of the two Slytherins next to him. Maud shut her lips tight and turned back to her now almost empty plate.

"Severus, you're late. What kept you?" Regulus asked as he turned to his lanky friend.

"The usual." Severus murmured. Maud looked at Severus quickly, noticing his eyes looked sullen and his skin was even more pale than usual. She knew what the two were chatting about but acted oblivious to keep from causing more of a commotion. Maud slid off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose before she slowly tied her hair up, keeping her dark blond locks out of her face. She messed with her bangs as she turned back to the boys, they looking back at her watching her play with her hair.

"….What?" She asked, taken back from the sudden attention she had. Regulus just smirked at her and turned his attention back to the desserts that were now in front of them all.

"Nothing. You just look good without your glasses. Plus, we all know you are getting ready to fill that bottomless pit you call a stomach with sweets." Maud huffed as she grabbed the treats and told him to sod off. Severus sat silently as the two next to him bantered back and forth with each other, laughing at whatever they were mildly amusing themselves with. Every now and then he would steal a quick glance at the laughing Maud.

Who would have thought this tiny, laughing girl, was a force to be reckoned with? He watched as her eyes twinkled with carefree happiness as she joked around with Regulus. A few strands of her loose hair fell to frame her pale, round face. He turned back to his book as she glanced at him, still smiling.


End file.
